Renaissance Festival in Maryland/Mini TB meet up #2

Annapolis Travel Blog

We have been planning to meet up with Mark (marksreynolds) and Lena (bwitch16) again for a while. We live relatively close together so we decided to meet on their turf this time. The renaissance fest was the perfect opportunity. The weather was on our side as well. A beautiful 85 degrees. The drive out to Annapolis went by quickly. Though I won't mention standing in traffic for 45 minutes just to get to the parking lot. Oops, I just did. ;)

Mark met us at the gate after we stood in line to get our tickets ($18 per person).He then walked us around a little bit, to get something to drink and take in the atmosphere. The festival goes on once every year (August to October), but the renaissance town remains year around in a little piece of forest. It has a authentic feel to it.

People are dressed up, not just the vendors, visitors too. Some of the costumes are more colorful then others. You'll see everything from wenches and knights to pirates and warlocks. Of course some people's outfits we're trashier then others. If I would have had a beer for every corset that was too small I wouldn't have walked out of there alive. hehe We met up with Lena, Mark's wife, and watched a comedy show together. (I'm sure Mark and Lena know exactly what it was called). It consisted of two guys sword fighting and making foul jokes at each others expense. Then one of the guys was laying down on a nail bed and the other attempted to break a brick on the poor guys chest or well, a bit lower then that. After the show we got some food. Turkey legs seemed to be very popular since we stood in line for quite a while to get a taste of them.

I had Steak on a Stake and curly fries -- I wonder how they curled those fries in renaissance times -- hmmm. After we ate, Mark and Lena showed us the rest of the festival. We walked around exploring all the different stands with handmade goods. Some sold art others sold costumes and swords. You can get henna tatoos made or get your hair braided. There are also more food stands with everything you could possible be hungry for. We walked through a maze and a museum with very eerie things in jars, like gremlins and fairies. We saw a hypnotist's show; He made people get really hot, almost to the point were they would have started to take their clothes off. They also had a jousting show, but we didn't stick around very long since it was in the sun and it was HOT. It was about an hour before closing and we decided to head out to Mark and Lena's place.

They invited us to come over for dinner. Getting there was a different story, since everyone was seemed to be going home at the same time. The parking lot was a mess and to top it off there was an ambulance trying to get through, probably because someone had a bit too much mead and fell over one of the tree trunks. Mark and Lena gave us a ride to our car which was parked at the very last corner right by the exit of the parking lot. We then switched cars and followed them to their house. Mark cooked up some cheeseburgers and brat hot dogs, had a few drinks and watched Ironman while we ate. We had a very nice time, again! Hopefully we'll get to repeat it one more time before we are moving to Germany. Or maybe who knows, they'll make it out there at some point and I'll get to show them my home in the old country. :)

P.S: We really enjoyed the renaissance fest as first time visitors. Mark and Lena are regulars and visit a couple of times each season, since they live close by. The only thing that I would pick on is the bathroom situation. Make sure you have a couple of hand wipes with you since there are no sinks.